Method for fabricating an electro-optical assembly

A method for fabricating an optical assembly comprising:

• placing a flexible portion of a substrate including a waveguide upon a horizontally movable stage of a flip-chip bonder, the waveguide exposed at one end edge of the substrate wherein the stage includes an opening positioned underneath the substrate exposed end edge;
• vertically upwardly moving a clamp through the stage opening to bend the flexible portion of the substrate to place the waveguide exposed end in approximately a vertical position;
• vertically downwardly moving a bond head containing an optical component upon the waveguide exposed substrate edge to position the optical component with the exposed waveguide;
• fixably mounting the optical component to the substrate edge;
• and
• releasing the optical component from the bond head while moving the clamp vertically downward through the stage opening thereby unbending the flexible portion of the substrate with the optical component mounted thereon.